The series in 'Met'rics (Mets at D-backs)

R.A. Dickey had among the most memorable first halves in Mets history.Let's take a closer look at the two most notable performers from the series against the Diamondbacks:

Matt Harvey’s Great Day

The most widely quoted stat around the majors this week, thanks to the Elias Sports Bureau, was that Matt Harvey became the first pitcher in modern major league history (since 1900) to strike out at least 10 hitters and get two hits in his debut on Thursday.

But what else was of note from Harvey’s brilliant work?

All-Star stat of the debut: Harvey is the 13th Mets starter to win his major league debut. He was the first to do so by beating a pitcher (Wade Miley) who had been selected to the All-Star Game that season.

Offensive stat of the debut: He’s the second Mets pitcher to go 2-for-2 and be perfect at the plate in his first game, joining David West (1988). He’s the fourth overall to do that, along with Jay Payton (1998) and Kazuo Matsui (2004).

Obscure stat of the debut: He was the third pitcher to throw at least two wild pitches in his debut, joining Ray Daviault (1962) and Aaron Heilman (2003).

Ridiculous stat of the debut: If Harvey retired today, he’d finish his career with the highest strikeout-per-9 rate in major-league history, minimum five innings pitched (18.6 K per 9).

Lost in Harvey’s Greatness

Bobby Parnell recorded a bizarre save, with three whiffs and two walks in one inning. He’s the third Mets pitcher to have a three-whiff/two-walk one-inning save, joining Armando Benitez in 1999 and Billy Wagner in 2007.

Most K, 1 Run Or Fewer Allowed
Mets History

The 16 strikeouts by Mets pitchers were three more than they’ve ever had in any nine-inning game against the Diamondbacks. They were the most the Mets have had in a nine-inning road game since they had 16 against the Marlins in 2006.

It tied for the second-most strikeouts they’ve ever had in a nine-inning road game. (The record is 19, all by David Cone in 1991 against the Phillies.)

Quirk of the day: The Mets have had a pair of 19-strikeout nine-inning games, and they’ve had a dozen 16-strikeout games, but they’ve never had a nine-inning game in which they’ve struck out 17 or 18.

Be Like Ike, Not The Mets

Ike Davis hit three home runs in the Mets' Saturday night loss. It was the ninth three-homer game in Mets history, all of which have come on the road.

In the last seven seasons, the Mets are 1-2 in games in which they’ve had a player hit three home runs in a game. All other teams are a combined 51-4.

Team's Only Runs on 3 Solo HR
In Losing Effort(Since 1920)

Davis became the second first baseman in Mets history to hit three home runs in a game. The other was Jim Hickman against the Cardinals in 1965. (Thanks to Yankeemetrics writer Katie Sharp, who alerted me to this.)

He’s the third Met to hit three home runs in a game from the left side of the plate, joining Claudell Washington (1980) and Darryl Strawberry (1985).

He finished tied for the second-most total bases in a game in Mets history.

And thanks to a Twitter tip from Ed Leyro, a.k.a “Studious Metsimus,” we can tell you (with the help of the Elias Sports Bureau) this marks the fourth time a team lost a game in which a player hit three home runs and a game in which a player hit for the cycle in the same season.

Of course, the Mets have done it twice -- in 2006 and 2012. The other teams to do so are the 1964 Senators and 1995 Yankees.